Ben Stiller Addresses Severance Season 2 ‘Patches Where There Were Difficulties’

Ben Stiller acknowledges "patches" of difficulties in making Severance Season 2, but says it's all part of the creative process.

The Apple TV+ series, created by Dan Erickson and executive produced by Stiller, is about an office worker named Mark (Adam Scott) who goes to work for a mysterious company called Lumen where a strict work/life balance is imposed: When workers are at work, they have no recollection of their outside lives, and when at home, they have no recollection of work. Their work selves are "innies" and home selves are called "outies."

The long delay between Severance Season 1 and season 2 — the show debuted in February 2022 and returns this Friday — has led to much speculation about a strained creative process. The show, like many productions, was also slowed by strikes. In a recent Vanity Fair piece, Erickson said the show would sometimes build sets before deciding not to use them:

"Those aren’t always fun calls to have with the studio, where you’re like, ‘Hey, you know that thing you put a lot of resources into? Well, we’re not going to do it now, or we’re going to do something that’s totally different.’ But again, at the end of the day, it’s worth it," Erickson told Vanity Fair.

Talking with Stiller for The New York Times' The Interview podcast, David Marchese asked Stiller directly if Severance was a difficult production.

"I have never really believed that idea [that] you have to have friction or something on a set," said Stiller, who also directs many episodes of Severance. "I've heard directors talk about that — to keep sort of tension on set. I think just the nature of making this show over the last — I mean, it's five years now — has been a learning experience. And yeah, sometimes, creatively, [there have] been the questions of like, 'Which way do we go with it?' And I really believe the show comes out of the different creative perspectives of the people who work on it."

He added: "And so, yeah, it's not always perfect. We went through patches where there were difficulties, but also, I think it all came out of everybody wanting something to be as good as it could be. And I really believe that all those different points of view ended up making the show what it is. So, yeah, there was some stuff that happened, but it wasn't a big deal."

Ben Stiller on Severance Season 2, and How to End the Show

Marchese also asked Stiller if he knows the show's ending — which, if we may editorialize, can be a good question for gauging whether a show has a clear vision, or is just there to make money.

Stiller assured him that the Severance team does know the ending. Though he understandably declined to go into details.

Also Read: Ben Stiller and Dan Erickson Tell Us If It Matters What Lumon Does on Severance

"In my mind, the series has always been about Mark, and his innie and his outie, and what happens with his innie and his outie, and what is the ultimate sort of destination for both of them," Stiller said.

He also confirmed one very specific thing: At one point, a character in Season 2 whistles the Gordon Lightfoot song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," a gorgeous dirge about a freighter that sank in Lake Superior in a storm on November 10, 1975, killing the crew of 29 men.

Marchese asked, jokingly, if the song holds any clues about the show. 

"I'm not going to say anything," Stiller laughed. "I want to leave all options open. But also, I'm a Gordon Lightfoot fan. ... And I will, hopefully, always be able to use his music in movies because I think he's just one of the great artists of our time."

Severance Season 2 arrives Friday on Apple TV+.

Main image: Adam Scott on Severance, Apple TV+